Playa Del Carmen's Mayor Calls for Bans on Future BPM Events Following Shooting

The mayor of Playa Del Carmen said all future BPM events in the town have been cancelled following the shooting at the festival yesterday which left five people dead and 15 wounded. The announcement was made by Mayor Cristina Torres Gómez at a press conference yesterday. In addition, she also said she will collaborate with local politicians to reconsider the regulatory framework for these kinds of events in order to bolster security and civil protection, reports Digital Music News.

BPM's next planned event was the gay and lesbian-focused Arena Festival, set to take place in the coastal resort town from February 1–7.

The president of the business coordinating council in the local Riviera Maya district of the Yucatán Peninsula told national newspaper El Universal that the organization did not want any more electronic music festivals to be allowed at all.

"We're asking for these kinds of events to go away," she said. "We don't want BPM here anymore, or any other similar event. We don't want it and we thank the authorities who are listening."

The director of the #SaferPartying campaign at the Drug Policy Alliance, Stefanie Jones, spoke with THUMP over email about the potential efficacy of an outright ban. "If the recent shootings and deaths at the BPM Festival turn out to be connected in some way to the drug trade, it would be sadly in line with what citizens of Mexico experience all the time," she said. "Banning music events, like the attempt to ban drugs themselves, will not stop this violence from happening. Only changing our drug policy, so that this trade is regulated and out of the hands of criminals, will do that."

Since the shooting on Monday, mourners have left shown condolences for the victims of the shooting by leaving flowers and messages outside the now-closed venue.

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